


Constant

by AlphaMercy



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Good Dad Jack, M/M, also angel never deserved that shit ok, also theres like, bc thts literally only 1 of 2 things i hate abt him, if u squint, probably going to be some weird science shit im sorry, well sorta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 15,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6744856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaMercy/pseuds/AlphaMercy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys, since the age of eight, has always been a bit...<i>off.</i> Of course, if you ask him, talking to the glowing blue man no one else can see is perfectly normal.</p><p>A small drabble series about the ghost of a powerful Hero, and the boy who grew into a King.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the creek

**Author's Note:**

> soooo my second (posted) foray into the borderlands/rhack fandom. a friend on tumblr gave me the idea (handsome-huney) like forever ago and i just found it lol  
> so enjoy. 
> 
> the "romance" probs wont be for a few chapters. updates come as inspiration hits.
> 
> also obviously this is like, _super_ AU

Rhys had always been a smart boy, even though being born without an eye and a arm made a lot of people think otherwise. He didn’t know why, he thought that those people were the stupid ones, not _him._ But he didn’t fret over it, and instead concentrated on the things he liked.

He was also an adventurous, if a quiet thing. He kept to himself, as most kids didn’t like him. They thought he was freaky. Rhys thought he was freaky too, but, like, in a _good_ way.

When he was eight, he went to the doctor's office, and Dr Martinez told him he could get his own arm and eye. He was _so_ excited, that they had to stop him from hacking the car and getting it to drive him there the day before. When he woke up, a day later, and saw his new right arm, which was two of his favorite colours, he cried. And when he saw his new left eye, which was blue, his last favorite colour, he cried some more.

So, here he was, six months later and hopping along the creek in the corpse of wood behind his house, which was on the edge of his suburban neighborhood. It was five miles outside Elpis, in one of the nicer areas. So they had more trees than usual. The next eighty or so miles was pure foothills, mixed with flat grassland and suburbia surrounding the city. So, the little patch of trees was just that. But it had a creek! He loved the creek, where he could spend late summer nights catching frogs and the occasional fish. It was his second most favorite place in the _entire world._ No one else was allowed, like, ever.

So, when Rhys tripped over a root on the bank, and hit his head on a rock, he was _not_ expecting a transparent blue man to be sitting on the old tree stump about two feet away.

The man was _big,_ and he was also _blue!_ And he was also laughing his butt off at Rhys., Wow, rude much?

“Hahahaaaa-ohmy _god_ kid-hahahaha- you should have _seen_ yourself!” He laughed for a second longer, before frowning and making a mean face. “Of course, you can’t even see me, stupid kid.” The blue man reached out a see-through hand and made to swipe at Rhys’ head.

Rhys squeaked and fell back into the water, soaking himself completely. The man laughed again, but stopped when Rhys sat up.

“Wait-wait-wait _wait just a freaking second._ ” He leaned forward, getting on his hands and knees and crawled towards Rhys. He whimpered and scrambled backwards, tiny flesh hand sinking into the mud. His other was at home charging.

You can actually see me! This is great!” The man crowed from his position in front of Rhys, face shoved into Rhys’ personal space.

  
And that was how Rhys found out that the ghost of the most powerful man in the galaxy was haunting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	2. exploading planets and homeschool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is an ass, and Rhys suffers the consequences

As Rhys’ eight rolled into nine, his birthday fast approaching, he thought that his life couldn’t be worse at the moment.

“Ya’know kiddo, I think ya  _ might _ be touched in the head.”

“Says the blue floating dead guy who murdered thousands of people and blew up a planet,” Rhys replied flatly.

“It was  _ two _ planets,  _ and _ all of their moons! There were like,  _ thirty _ of them combined!”

Rhys just gave a dead stare at the older man, not bothering to reply as he continued with his homework, zooming through the sixth grade math quite easily. Jack poked at stuff behind him, muttering about being ignored. Rhys didn’t care, he had better things to do than listen to an old man complain.

Rhys was in his room, doing work after getting home from school. He had been sent home early, not because  _ he _ had done anything, but because  _ Jack _ had thought it a brilliant idea to tug on Libby Dervy’s braids. Rhys had been picking something out of his cubby, and since he was the only one near her, he got in trouble. And because he stuck to the line “It wasn’t me, Jack did it!”, he was sent to the principal's office, and when he “didn’t tell the truth” , he got sent home. There was no-one named Jack in his class...well, that the teachers knew of.

So Rhys was currently upset with his floating companion, and had been ignoring him since the incident. Jack wasn’t too happy with that, and had tried goading several times. Rhys still didn’t care.

“Oh c’mon, cupcake! She was being a snobby little brat and was  _ totally _ acting as if she was better than you. And that’s not possible because you’re representing me. The only person who could ever be better is  _ me. _ And Nisha. Angel too…” He trailed off, getting quiet again. He got like that sometimes, whenever those two names popped up. Rhys wondered who they were. Jack got all grouchy when he tried to ask, so Rhys just left the names alone.

Of course, just when he thought things were the worst they could be, his mothers knocked on his door, and sat on is bed.

“Rhysie,” Ma started, looking slightly lost.

Mom sighed and patted Ma’s hand, before turning to him. “What yer mother is tryin’a say, is that we’re concerned fer ya, Ry. Ya’ve been more withdrawn the last few months, and...well, we’ve both ‘eard ya talkin’ to yerself, often, in fact.”

Rhys could  _ feel _ the life leaving him as his Mom spoke, eyes fixed over her shoulder, on the blue form of a grinning man.

Ma picked up where Mom left off, “And then, sweetie, today happened, and you  _ still  _ haven’t made friends. We’ve decided that maybe...maybe you need to be homeschooled, and, well, see one of my co-workers for a little bit. Maybe some group therapy will help you meet someone?”

Rhys wanted to cry, but all he did was nod and mumble something that sounded like “okay”.

Ma kissed his cheek, and Mom informed him dinner was in an hour. They left.

Rhys let out a groan, and rolled off his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	3. birthdays are for loathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a glimpse at group therapy, and rhys maybe makes a friend?

_There were_ , Rhys thought, _some things that should just be left alone._ Like Jack when he'd just woken up in the morning (who knew that ghosts could _sleep?_ ), or, as was the case today, Rhys’ birthday.

Rhys absolutely _hated_ his birthday, it was, in his humble nine-year-old opinion, _totally_ unnecessary and a _complete_ waste of time. Most people were surprised to hear that, as the majority of children loved their birthdays. _They_ had never been subjected to constant teasing about their missing eye and arm, or the smothering of two concerned mothers; one who was a psychologist, and the other who was a botanist and was often away from home. And there was the Clown-Cake-Tree incident from his fourth birthday party when he actually had “friends.” Rhys shuddered at the memory. He _still_ couldn't eat cake, and had a healthy ~~fear~~ respect for clowns.

And now he had Jack, who _still_ couldn't get over the fact he hated his birthday, and insisted that he _had_ to do something awesome for it. Rhys was still mad at him for pulling Libby Dervy’s braids two months ago, and landing him with a child psychologist and group therapy. Which also happened to be today. In like, five minutes. Rhys gave a pathetic glance at his Ma, begging her with his eyes to let him just skip it _this one time_ , but no; she gave him that Look, and he sighed.

“Oh, cheer up Rhysie. It's only for an hour, and then we can go out and get some ice cream, yeah?” Ma tried to cheer him up, and ice cream _did_ sound nice, but just the thought of being stuck in that small, smelly room with a bunch of snot-nosed brats made him want to _hurl._

Of course, Jack just _had_ to add his own two cents into the mix.

“Pumpkin, you should just kill these stupid kids, there's no point in goin’ to this shindig since you're not crazy. Well, crazy enough to be here, at least.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, waved goodbye to his Ma, and entered the much-hated “children's room” where they had the group therapy four out of five days a week. Rhys wanted to gag at the overly-bright room, ugly yellow walls, and the distinct smell of chlorine and pee. He hated it here.

“Rhys, welcome!” The saccharine voice of Sammy Potts, his child psychologist, called. Rhys wanted to stick pencils in his ears.

He said nothing, as always, and walked in. He took his usual seat in between the scrawny little nerd called Vaughn, and the already-balding twelve-year-old named Hugo. Jack called him Wallethead, and Rhys thought it was _brilliant._ Hugo was a jerk, and the only other teen in the room besides him was a creep called Shade. He picked on all the younger kids at every opportunity no matter what Potts said to him.

“Sooo, uh Rhys. I heard that your birthday is today. It’s too bad Potts is already here. I have a, ah, _really_ special present for you.” Jack cackled from his place in front of Hugo, making faces and flipping the jerk off.

“Wallethead, go shove your face in some feces, okay? _I_ _really don’t care._ ” With that, Rhys turned to Vaughn and, for once, decided to try to talk to him. “So. Why are you here anyways?”

“Real tactful, Rhysie boy.” Rhys ignored Jack's comment and waited for the smaller kids answer.

“Oh, um. My parents thought I spent too much time alone on the computer, and I kinda attract bullies ‘cause I’m smaller than most kids even though I’m nine and a half. Uh, happy birthday?”

Rhys sighed and nodded his thanks. “Well, at least yours didn’t pull you out of school for allegedly pulling a girls braids even though you didn’t do it and for the fact they think you’re nuts cause you’re talking to yourself when really it’s just the blue ghost of Hyperion’s dead CEO.”

Vaughn blinked at the info dump.

“Good goin’ kiddo, way to spill the beans!” Rhys realized what he had said after Jack spoke. His face paled and he shrunk into himself, sure the kid was about to call him a freak.

“You have _Handsome Jack_ haunting you? Holy cow that’s awesome! And scary. Really, _really_ scary. What’s he like?” Vaughn was wide-eyed and smiling.

Rhys grinned back, “Loud. And really rude.”

“I am _not!_ ”

  
And so Rhys made his first friend that day (something he only wished for during the dead of night when the whole world was asleep).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I have no clue how i did with vaughn, seeing as i've never written him before. if he's like, super ooc, imma blame it on him being a kid
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com), come say hi


	4. mega marvel cats and ice cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonding time with vaughn and a hint at what jack has been doing with rhys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to the people who left comments last chapter: thank you so very very much! i'm glad to see y'all are liking it so far. i didn't know how to respond individually to each w/o say the same thing a little differently each time. i really appreciate the comments!

“ _Wow,_ does this ice cream suck or what?”

“Totally dude. It’s gross,” Vaughn groaned, sticking his tongue out and making a face.

Rhys laughed, that was exactly how he felt about the barely edible frozen “food” in his hand.

“Well, cupcake, if you wanted better ice cream, you shoulda asked your Ma. You _know_ she’s a total sucker for the combined might of yours and Vaughns puppy eyes,” Jack shivered, “those things are _deadly_ , I swear.”

“Shut up Jack.” He was totally right. Ma couldn’t take the sad-cute of he and Vaughn combined. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Huh? What’d he say now?” Vaughn looked up from his fast-melting ice cream, glasses slightly askew.

“He said we should have asked Ma instead of Mom and used our sad eyes to get better ice cream.”

Vaughn looked stricken, face displaying the horror Rhys felt inside. “We...are _so dumb._ Why didn’t we think of that?”

“I don’t know dude. Maybe we can try later?” Rhys was hopeful, if they could corner Ma while Mom was out, there was good chance of getting that ice cream.

It was the middle of August, and Rhys had finally brought Vaughn to his creek. He had amended the “no one else ever” rule because Vaughn was actually a pretty cool kid. He was smart, _and_ he was into Mega Marvel Cats so _of course_ they had to be friends now. And there was the fact he didn’t think Rhys was crazy for saying Handsome Jack himself was haunting him. But those were details; what was important was the Mega Marvel Cats marathon on in an hour. That was the whole point of this sleepover, his first one ever.

“Kiddo. Kiiiiiddooooo? _KIDDO!_ ” Rhys jumped and fell backwards, glaring up at the laughing sprite above him.

“What the heck Jack!”

“Oh you shoulda seen-pfft hahaha-the look on-ohohohohahaha-you _face_ , pumpkin!”

Rhys glared and sat up, legs sliding off the old stump.

“You okay dude? You jumped like, _really_ hard.”

“I’m fine, Jack’s just being...Jack.” He sighed and ruffled his hair, trying to dislodge all the dirt and leaves caught in it now.

“Ohhh. Man, he does that at some of the worst times. Like last week when you were coming back from the bathroom and he popped out of Dr Potts’ chest and you yelped. That was really funny. Hugo was such a jerk after though; I hate that guy.”

Rhys groand and dropped his head into his hands, cringing at the memory. Everyone, Potts included, now thought there was something _really_ messed up with Rhys. Jack was always making his life harder than it need to be. He was _nine_ for crying out loud, he shouldn’t be having a crisis ‘til he was _at least_ twelve and becoming one of those moody _teenagers._

“Cheer up dude, at least he’s teaching you how to run your own company. Like when you made business cards! That was really fun! We should do something like that again!”

“Oh, the nerd actually liked that? Well, he does like to play with numbers. He’d be a good financial advisor when you get older, cupcake. Keep him close.” Rhys gave Jack a _look_ , because one, he just _scared him half to death,_ and two, his little “business lessons” were supposed to be tomorrow, _after_ Vaughn was well on his way home.

Why had his life gotten so _weird?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	5. parties are the worst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys meets a new friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is an extra long chapter for y'all cause I'm slightly sick so enjoy!

“Rhys?”

He looked up at Vaughn from his small lapbook, hands pausing in their frantic dance across the keyboard. “Yeah Vaughn?” Jack paused in his directing, look at Vaughn as well.

“Are you going to Yvette's party?” Vaughn looked slightly worried, as if Rhys would leave him to the sharks with no cage.

“Yeah. Ma _and_ Mom agreed that I had to go since it's “nice” or whatever. It's gunna suck big time.” Rhys screwed his face up in disgust, already dreading the party that was in a few hours. “They also said that your dad said it was okay for you to go with us, and he'll just pick you up from there.”

“Oh, really? Sweet! And it might. She has pool though so that's cool!” Vaughn's face was lit with happiness, and Rhys just didn't have it in him to remind Vaughn he couldn't swim.

“Yeah, it sounds fun. Maybe there'll be some other cool things also. Who knows.” Rhys shrugged, trying to sound excited but falling short.

“Eh, next time _try_ to put some emotion in their pumpkin. There are gunna be times you'll need to fake it with the best of ‘em. Might as well start now!”

“ _Really,_ Jack?”

This girl Yvette had joined their group in September, and even though it was almost Halloween, and by proxy, November, Elpis was still a balmy 75℉ because of the naturally hot climate of this part of Pandora. Hence the _pool party_.

“Yeah! And there's gunna be like, _a lot_ of food!”

Rhys perked up at that, he _did_ love food. And **free** food was even better! “Sweeeeeet! You know where I'll be dude!”

Vaughn giggled and nodded, “ _Definitely_ , bro!”

“ _Wow_ kiddo. Just _wow._ Well, hey, maybe they'll have pretzels that _won't_ suck! Who freakin knows!”

So they spent the dwindling hours til the party talking and messing around with Rhys Lego's and lapbook, until Ma called them downstairs.

Rhys sighed and got up from his bed, pushing Vaughn up as he did.

“C’mon bro, time to go.”

“Alright dude, I'm coming I'm coming! No need to be pushy!”

Rhys puffed his cheeks, making them seem chubbier than they already were, and stuck his tongue out. “Well if you weren't so _slow_ then I wouldn't have to rush you!”

“Whatever,” Vaughn called over his shoulder as he jumped up and ran out the door, “Race you to the car!”

“No fair!” Rhys scrambled after him, pushing his little legs as fast as they could go. He caught up to Vaughn at the top of the stairs.

Instead of running down them though, he slipped on to the railing and slid down it. He tumbled off before he hit the pole top at bottom, cutting Vaughn off, who let out a yelp as he tripped over Rhys. They fell in a flailing pile of limbs and noise.

Jack was off in a corner laughing at the two boys, hands on his knees and gasping for his breath...well, his _metaphorical_ breath, anyways.

“Rhys? Vaughn? Are you two okay?” Ma called from the living room, worry in her voice.

They groaned in response.

Ma walked into the foyer, looking at them in pity. “Did you two race down again?”

“Yeeeaaah,” one of them moaned, as they untangled their limbs.

“Ugh, Rhys your knees _hurt_ bro.”

“So do your elbows dude. _Ouch._ ”

“Alright alright, let's get in the car, don't want to be late now do we?” Mom had appeared inside, just to remind them of the _stupid_ party. Rhys thought it was some sort of Mom-power.

“Ugh, fine.”

“Sure thing Mrs. P!”

They were hustled out the car and buckled in. They spent the fifteen minute drive playing I Spy and discussing the amount of money they would need to start up their own business.

“The nerd’s actually pretty close. I keep forgetting how smart you and your loser friend are. Huh.”

Rhys scowled at Jack, who was sitting in the row behind he and Vaughn, but said nothing. He _really_ didn't need to give his parents any more of a reason to think he was crazy.

Vaughn paused in his speech and leaned closer. “Uh oh, is Jack being mean again?”

“ _Yeah_ , he's just calling us names though. I'm just gunna ignore him.”

“Good idea. We're here anyways. You ready?”

Rhys sighed. “Yeah, let's go.”

The car came to a stop, and the boys unbuckled and slid out. They could hear the screeching children and the  splashing of water. Rhys _really_ hoped there would be a place he could curl up and hide away from it all. Vaughn knew some of the kids, so he'd probably play with them for a bit.

So they went and mingled and Vaughn swam and Rhys wanted to just sleep. Jack was Jack and made rude comments about everyone and everything, from the way one lady wore her shoes, to the way another guest held their drink. And the decorations. And the food, the dog, pool, even the stupid _windows_ were unable to escape his wrath. Rhys ignored him.

And, instead of playing or swimming, Rhys grabbed a bunch of food and ventured further into the maze-like back garden. He found a nice quiet spot behind some large bushes, next to a patch of poppies. He sat and ate and played tetris on his small hand-screen, until a voice commented “You really should move that piece over to the right and down, and then move the L piece next to it.”

Rhys jerked and fell, barely catching his food before it spilled. “Whaa?”

“The pieces? In your game? If you want to get a higher score you really _should_ pay attention more.” It was, surprisingly, the birthday girl herself.

Yvette Andersmith was an eleven year old rich girl with klepto issues a mile wide. And some other stuff but Rhys never paid attention in group therapy. The only reason he knew she was a klepto was because it revolved around food and she had taken his lunch one day.

“Oh. Yeah. Thanks?”

“What are you doing back here anyways?” She plopped herself down and snatched a finger sandwich off his plate before he could react.

He glared at her, “Well, I can't exactly _swim_ with my arm, and I hate kids.”

“ _You're_ a kid.”

“Fine, I hate _other_ kids. Better?”

“Much.” She stole another sandwich and Rhys gave a pathetic whine. “Suck it up pretty boy.”

“But it's _my_ food!”

“Technically it's _mine_ because my parents _paid_ for it!”

“So?!”

“So I can eat it if I want to!”

And that was how Rhys properly met Yvette the food leech. Becoming _proper_ friends took a lot of work on Vaughn's part. (He locked them in the bathroom and accidentally forgot about them. But that's another story for a different day.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple references for both the blands fandom and another couple. Hope you liked it!
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	6. business and mothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys says some things, and we finally meet Mom properly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so my friend pointed out that i was paralleling poison ivy and harley quinn in rhys' moms. so i ran with that theme 
> 
> i also wanted to explore rhys' relationships with his mothers a little bit more, so this is a bit info-heavy at the end.

“Okay pumpkin, we're almost done.”

“Come _on_ Jack, we've been doing this since three! It's already almost _six!_ ”

“Alright alright, calm down kid. You just need to do one last thing.”

Rhys groaned and shook his head. He just wanted this to be _over_ already. “ _Fine_ Jack. What is it?”

“You just need to repeat the main points of what we covered today!”

Rhys let out a frustrated whine. Why him? He just wanted to be a semi-normal kid who played with his friends and beat his favorite games. Was the too much to ask for? _He_ certainly didn't think so.

“Rhyyyyysssss, I'm _waiting_.” Jack tapped his foot, even though it made no noise on the hardwood floor.

“ _Uuuuugh_. God Jack, you suck.”

“Yeah yeah, I know kid I've heard it all before. Now hop to it.”

With a long dramatic sigh, Rhys started to recite. “Make sure your startup money milks _all_ the money you can from whatever grants and investors you find. Recruit people who _need_ your job, not just _want_ it, because they’ll be forced to rely on you. They’ll also work harder due to some subcocious-”

“ _Subconscious_ , pumpkin.”

“Thanks, some _subconscious_ need to prove that they're a good hire and fear of not wanting to get fired if their work falls in quality or something.”

“Go on.”

“Uhhhh…”

“You _forgot already?_ ”

“We’ve been doing this for _three hours,_ Jack! I’m _nine!_ ” Rhys was getting angry. He didn’t know why, but it was there, quietly bubbling away under his skin and through his veins

“Kiddo, you’re killin’ me here!”

His anger reached an unseen peak, and he let loose, “I don’t care Jack! I don’t care if your _stupid Angel_ could do this better and faster when they were _five_! I’m not them! _I never will be!”_ Rhys sucked in a breath and let it out in a big _whoosh_ of air. He glared at Jack, but the man was frozen where he sat on the edge of Rhys’ bed, staring at him blankly. Rhys scowled and slid off his bed, stomping over to his desk where his lapbook lay. He snatched that and stormed downstairs.

“Ry, wha’s wrong, suga? Ya look like someone cancelled Mega Marvel Cats permanently,” Mom said from her spot in her specialized greenhouse. The door was by the stairs, so _of course_ Mom had to be in there when Rhys stomped down the stairs away from Jack.

“Nothin’ Mom. Just got annoyed at this game I was playin’,” he replied, scuffing his toe back and forth along the hardwood.

She stood up, red hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She brushed the dirt off her gloves and slipped them off, before setting them down and walking over to Rhys. She squatted back down, to match his height. Rhys appreciated that. “Rhys, swee’eart, don’t be lyin’ ta yer mother now. What’s _really_ wrong?”

He sighed, and promptly burst into tears. “I-I-I don’ know! Me an’ a friend were talkin’-” he hiccuped in the middle of his sentence, and Mom pulled him closer to her.

“Just’ let it all out, an’ then ya can tell me wha’s wrong, baby,” she cooed to him.

Pamela Isley-Quinn was the thirty two year old mother of one, and married to the most beautiful, smartest woman on earth. When she and her wife had decided to adopt instead of having their own kids, it had taken them four visits to the multiple adoption agencies around Elpis before the found Rhys, only seven months old and already abandoned. They had fallen in love with his quiet nature and chubby cheeks almost immediately. She and Harly didn’t care that he was missing an eye or arm; he was a child and he was going to be _theirs._ That was all that mattered.

The actual adoption took three months longer than it should have due to some weird mix-ups and red-tapes on his files. His birth mother wanted the chance to contact him if she ever felt the need to. Pamela absolutely _loathed_ Rhys’ birth mother. But there was nothing they could do about it at the time but wait  until Rhys could make his own decisions. They told him when he was six, because he was such a bright child from such a young age. He took it fairly well, and told them that _they_ would always be his parents, his _mothers._ No random woman who gave birth to him and them gave him up would even come near _that_ . That day, Pam felt the love for _her_ son, already to unending and complete, swell even more in size. She knew Harly had always been afraid of that, and in a few simple seconds, Rhys unknowingly had shot it down with vicious accuracy.

So she held her child as he cried, and remembered how this all came to be. She wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. She just hoped she did a good job at raising Rhys into a good man. She feared for him and the weird things that had been happening since a year ago, but she never loved him any less.

Rhys sniffled and pulled back a bit, flesh hand rubbing one eye while the metal one was still clinging to her.

“Ya ready now swee’eart?”

Rhys nodded.“I was talkin’ to a friend, and I dunno, I got _really_ mad at them for no reason. I said some mean things, but I feel like they’re _always_ comparing me to somebody they used ta know, without realizing it...a-an-and it _hurts_. I jus’ wanna be _me_ to them, not some shadow!”

“Well maybe, after ya two have spent some time apart an’ coolin’ down, ya should apologise, an’ then explain, _gently_ , ta them why ya said those things, an’ then say exactly what ya said to me, yeah?”

Rhys sucked in a small breath, “Yeah. I really messed up, didn’t I?”

“No, baby. People sometimes say things they don’t mean, an’ then ya have to _work_ to make it all better. Ya understand?”

Rhys furrowed his brow, “I... _think_ so?”

“Ya’ll figure it out, baby. If ya need help, come an’ talk ta me, alrigh’?”

“Okay, Mom. Thank you.” He gave her a tight hug before moving off into the living room. Pam watched him go, heart hurting for him. He was already so mature, and now here he was growing up just a bit more in front of her own eyes.

  
Neither of them noticed the hovering blue man sitting against the railings at the top of the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so timeline:
> 
> -rhys meets jack for the 1st time, around Nov 9th  
> -weekish later, jack pulls libby dervy's braids & rhys gets stuck w homeschool &therapy  
> -2 months later is rhys' bday, jan 9th, he talks to vaughn  
> -skips to mid auguts, vaughn is now 10 (july 6th), they bond over shitty ice cream  
> -abt 2 months later is yvettes party, they meet and eventually become friends  
> -it's now around nov 15th, approaching thanks giving. not that they celebrate it but ya'know
> 
> i totally bullshitted the business stuff pls dont follow it i have no idea what im talking abt.
> 
> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	7. apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys figures out how to say sorry to jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a special thanks to ezarel, for being my 100th kudos! i squealed when i saw that lol

_Two weeks._

Two weeks since Rhys had said those things to Jack. Since he had blown up and made Jack hate him. Rhys had never realized exactly _how much_ of his day Jack was apart of. He missed the constant jokes and insults, the advice and lessons. The mimed hair-ruffling, the constant bickering and teasing, even those stupid _pet names_! It was something he had grown to love in the past year. Some kids might have said Jack felt like a dad, but for Rhys that wasn’t the case. He felt like a best friend; a secret confidant who could tell no one of the things Rhys told him. He was a mentor, a guide, and Rhys loved him. He just hadn’t realized that, in his own way, Jack cared for him too. Even if he was still not over losing whoever Angel and Nisha were.

He sighed. He wanted _so_ badly to apologise, but Jack had been distant, face in a constant state of deep thought. Every time Rhys got up the courage to approach, something _always_ happened that required him to stop and go do _that_ instead. He was growing frustrated, and he had cried more in the past week than he had in _months_. Though Ma said that was unhealthy and repressing emotions could lead to issues down the road, so it wasn’t exactly something to brag about.

“Rhys, bro?”

“Hmm?” He glance up at his lapbook screen and Vaughn’s face. He realized his game avatar had been killed. “Oh, sorry man. It’s just, ya’know. It really sucks and I want to say sorry but I just haven’t been able to yet.”

“Yeah. Maybe write it out or something? And leave it where he can see it?” Vaughn offered, looking unsure.

“Yeah, yeah that could work. Thanks man. Listen, I gotta go, I’ll see you and Yvette in group tomorrow, right?”

“Totally dude! Say hi to your moms for me!” Vaughn waved before clicking button and disappearing from Rhys’ screen.

Well, he should at least _try_ to get this letter written, right? Nodding to himself in firm resolve, Rhys jumped off his bed and ran over to his small desk, looking around for loose blank paper. He snatched an orange pen from his writing cup, and set to work. He wrote _To Jack_ at the top, and paused, trying to think of what to say.

“Whatcha doin’ over there kiddo?”

Rhys jumped and yelped (he did _not_ squeak, no matter what Jack said later). “J-jack?”

“The one and only, kid,” he said, gesturing to himself, “Now what’s got you lookin’ all constipated over there?”

“Rhys glanced down at the paper, and then folded it. “N-nothing really. Um, Jack-”

Jack sat on Rhys’ bed and patted the spot beside him. “C’mon kid, you’ve missed _a lot_ of lessons. I promise they won’t be three hours this time.”

Rhys got up hesitantly, and sat next to Jack. A warning for low battery on his arm flashed in front of his eye. He plugged the cord into his arm, and looked at Jack. “Okay. But Ja-”

Jack shushed him, and stared out the window before saying softly, “And then...then I’ll tell you about Angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short little thing. i think it worked best for the chapter. hope you enjoyed!  
> also for that one reader, heres the link to comic panels of now-canon poisonquinn: http://thefingerfuckingfemalefury.tumblr.com/post/143995619048/3-its-caaaaaaaaaanon-its-canon-d-dc-comics
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	8. you can't have any pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> deck the halls fa la la la la wheres the pie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack~! I'm really sorry this took so long, college exams kicked my ass but that's over now, I should have a chapter out every few days!

“ _And then_ , without even _looking_ at the damn thing, she tosses the gun at the guys face, says “a thresher could do a better job than you could” and then kicks him out!” Jack finished with, laughing throughout. “Ah, that was...that was one of the best days. She was-she was something alright. Definitely took after her old man in a lot of ways.”

“Wow, I can’t believe she actually said that to the guy! What happened to him, anyways?” Rhys questioned curiously.

“Eh, he got fired like two weeks later. Posthumously, actually. Eaten by a thresher, of all things. Pretty ironic now that I think about it” Jack chuckled, “We should have hired the thresher after all, I guess.”

Rhys stared at Jack for a second, before shrugging and hopping off the bed to get cookies. Honestly, he was pretty used to it after more than a year of hearing about the many deaths, death threats, and innumerable amount of other things that related to death/dying/etc when it came to Jack. Or in general, really.

“Maaaaaan kiddo do those look good or _what?_ Your Ma sure knows how to cook. I dunno how with all the work and clients she has.”

Rhys nodded, mouth full of Christmas-shaped cookies, “Mmmhmm!”

“Don’t choke kid,” Jack muttered as he mimed ruffling Rhys’ hair, before he floated off the bed and disappeared through the wall.

Rhys took the plate and wandered down into the kitchen while still eating the cookies. He wanted to get some milk, and maybe a slice of pie if he could work Ma the right way.

It was Christmas time on Pandora. Even though most people didn’t celebrate it with the original intentions from thousands of years ago in mind, and a lot of the traditions had been warped and thrown out; but Christmas was Christmas. And that meant cookies, presents and annoying relatives. Why had that not changed in the thousand plus years that Christmas had been around? Rhys didn’t know, but he felt lucky that his grandparents, aunts, uncles and other non-gendered relatives weren’t cheek-pinchers. So it was Christmas time, Ma was cooking like there was an apocalypse nigh on the horizon, Mom was home for three weeks and decorating as if there was a contest, and Rhys had eaten more than his body weight in cookies. It was a good time all around.

Jack, as had been the norm the past few weeks, had been telling him about Angel, who turned out to be Jack’s _daughter._ Which was nuts, but also really cool. Jack still hadn’t told him what had happened to her, or between them, but Rhys wasn’t _too_ worried about that. The stories so far had been really funny and totally _awesome._ Rhys wished he could meet her, but that obviously wasn’t an option. Too bad.

“Hey Ma?”

“Yeah Rhysie?” She replied, bustling about the kitchen as he took a seat at the table. The room smelled of apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and a hundred other spices. It smelt like Christmas, and _home_. Rhys loved it.

“Joo uoo fink ay caw haw soom paw?” H asked, mouth still full of cookies.

She paused in kneading the bread and turned to look at him. “Now _what_ have I said about talking with your mouth full of food?” She scolded him, floured hands resting on her hips.

Rhys swallowed the thoroughly chewed cookies and looked down, “Sorry Ma.”

  
“And no, you can’t have any pie. It’s for later, when Vaughn and Sully, Yvette, Martha and Isaiah come over, _after_ dinner. You’re just going to have to wait like everyone else.” She went back to the dough, checking on one pie in the oven as Rhys left, tail tucked firmly between his legs. At least the others would be there soon. One step closer to pie. And presents!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is part one! yep, this is a two-parter, it should be out soon
> 
> [my tumblr.](http://handsomjackisback.tumblr.com) come over and send me some prompts!
> 
> (fun fact: i ate a hot dog and repeated rhys' sentence like five times to get an approximation of what it would actually sound like!)


	9. memories that fade like photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i maaaaaaybe fudged the update time a little. but, here you go

Jack watched as Rhys plowed into his two friends, knocking the three back into Yvette’s parents legs. The three popped up, apologised and bounded off into the house, whispering about pies and presents. He sighed, nostalgia washing over him.

 

_“Whooo boy, you shouldn’t_ ever _be allowed back in the kitchen.”_

_“It’s not that bad! At least my pie came out correctly!”_

_“Heh, that it did squirt, that it did.”_

 

Jack shook his head clear, and floated to the other side of the house, following the noise of talking. The adults were congregated in the dining room, talking about the kids’ group therapy and other parent-y shit.

_Damn_ how he missed being able to walk, and _feel_ things. He missed the sensation of touch and warmth. The only things he felt now were a vague static sensation whenever something passed through him. It _sucked_ . At least he could still sleep. He didn’t dream, though. Just one long replay of memories from his life. Sometimes they were fun and happy, but most of the time it was shitty memory after bloody death. It was such a downer around the holidays. And while he enjoyed telling Rhys about Angel, and all the good times they’d had, it _hurt_.

 

_“Jack, what’re you doing up so late?”_

_“Reports.”_

_“Jack, for chrissake, it’s_ Christmas Eve! _”_

_“So? They have to get done.”_

_“Really, so when you’re too tired to watch Angel open presents later, will it have been worth it?”_

 

“Jaaaack?”

Jack blinked from his perch on the table on the dining room, realizing that the adults were gone, and the lights off. The only light source was the faint blow glow that emanated off of him.

“Jack, are you okay?” Rhys’ face peered at him from the doorway into the playroom.

“I’m fine pumpkin, just thinkin’. What’s up?”

Rhys glance behind him, nodding at something unseen. “Uh, Yvette was wondering if you could help us get some pie?”

Jack snorted, “You mean you and your little minions wanted to know if I could watch for your parents while you filch pies and other foodstuffs from the kitchen and up into your room.”

Rhys stared at Jack for a second, a blush rising on his face. “Um, maybe?”

“Sure, why not kid. The holiday spirit and all that.”

 

_“Jack! You’re going to spoil her teeth rotten if you keep giving her sweets.”_

_“I know, Nish, but I can’t help it, she’s too cute!”_

_“Oww dad! Stop pinching my cheeks!”_

 

“Alright kiddo, let’s go.”

Rhys waved to his little posse, and they crept forwards through the doorway into the kitchen, looking around warily. “You guys grab some cookies and plates and stuff, I”ll get the pie. Is apple okay with you guys?”

Vaughn nodded and made off for the silverware and plates.

“Yeah, just make sure it’s still hot, okay? I’m in the mood for warm apple pie. Even if your Ma’s cooking is great cold too,” Yvette told Rhys, eyes glancing around the kitchen, probably for food, knowing her.

Jack floated over to the doorway leading out into the hall, peeking out to see if any of the parents were about. Luckily for the munchkins, it sounded as if they were all gathered in the living, from which the most certainly could not see the area by the kitchen and stairway.

“Hurry up cupcake, your parents aren’t gunna stay in one place for much longer.”

“Guys, c’mon! Let’s go let’s go let’s _go!_ ” Rhys whispered to the others, gloved hands filled with a slightly steaming pie.  They hurried out, Vaughn carrying a bag full of plates and forks, while Yvette had a plate of cookies in one hand, and a small bottle of eggnog in the other.

 

_“Nish, did you spike the ‘nog?”_

_“Maybe, why?”_

_“Because Angel just had some, well, more like four cups, and she’s...well, you’ll see.”_

_“Well, shit.”_

 

Jack clenched his hands, eyes closing as he tried to force out the memories swirling in his head.

 

_“Oh? What’s this?”_

_“An apology. A gift. A thank you. Whatever you want to take it as, I guess. I just...I appreciate you helping out with Angel.”_

_“That’s not all, though.”_

_“...no, it’s not.”_

  


But the memories persisted, flashes whipping past his closed eyelids

  


_“JACK!”_

_“Nisha! Just run! GO!”_

  


_“Daddy? Can I sleep with you an’ Nisha tonight? I had a bad dream.”_

_“C’mon sweetheart.”_

  


_“Is there anything you_ wont _do?”_

_“Just, fuck off. I get it, you won, okay?”_

 

He fell to his knees, blue palms pressed to the floor,

 

_“Holy crap-”_

_“Language, Angel!”_

_“But dad,_ look! _”_

  


_“Love you.”_

_“Love you too. Now you go get ‘em cowgirl.”_

_“...Don’t call me that again.”_

_"Yeah, got it!”_

 

why wouldn’t these memories just stop...

 

_“JUST LEAVE ME_ ALONE! _”_

_“Angel, sweetheart, she was an asshole anyways.”_  
  


_“Wooow, look at you, all dressed up. What’s the occasion?”_

_“Awards ceremony.”_

_“Wait what? Why are you getting an award? And why didn’t you tell me?”_

_“I did, three different times. You said you come.”_  
  


_“Nisha, baby…”_

_“Yeah Jack?”_

_“Marry me?”_

 

he felt tears fall down his face, but how-?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry if I fucked Nisha up I've barely even come across her in fanfiction and I still haven't played TPS yet.
> 
> [my tumblr.](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com) feel free to send me some prompts!


	10. haunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's dinner time now and rhys is concerned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise! its part three! i had a sudden burst of inspiration for a bit of plot and it fit nicely into this

It was dinner time now, and the parents seemed none the wiser to the Great Pie Rescue. Rhys was relieved, though the splitting headache he’d had since they pulled it off had been a bit of a damper. But he definitely didn’t let it stop him from enjoying those sweet treats he and his friends had. Though now that it was dinner time, they were almost completely full (with the exception of Yvette—she was _always_ hungry).

Rhys sat between Vaughn and Yvette on one side, with Yvette’s parents and Vaughns dad across from them. Rhys’ mothers were bringing in food dishes from the kitchen. Rhys _really_ hoped they didn’t notice the missing pie and cookies.

“Oh Sully this casserole looks lovely!” Ma commented as she unwrapped covered dish Vaughn and his dad had brought. Her face was delighted as she reached up to sweep some blond hair back behind an ear.

He chuckled and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “Ah, thanks  Harly. Vaughn insisted we _had_ to bring something over or else it wouldn’t be ‘polite’.”

Vaughn blushed, “ _Daaa-aaaad!_ ”

“Oops, sorry squirt.”

“Don’cha worry Vaughn, Ah think it was real sweet of ya to bring something over,” Mom reassured him, smile on her face as she pulled her braid of red over one shoulder.

He looked her and grinned shyly, and Rhys felt the love for his mother grow. His moms were the _best._

“Yeah! It just means more food anyways, why would we complain?” And there was Yvette’s two cents.

“Is food _all_ you think about, Yvette?” Her mother questioned, giving an exasperated look at her daughter.

“No! I also think of how to keep these two lugs in line and get some money so I can buy that cool looking game coming out in a week. So not _everything_ is food-related.”

Rhys just sat back and watch his most precious people interact. Sully, Martha and Isaiah might not have been as close as family, not like Ma, Mom, Yvette and Vaughn, but they were still important. Though...someone was missing. Rhys glanced around curiously, trying to spot the glowing blue form of his most permanent companion. But Jack was nowhere to be found. So Rhys spent the remainder of dinner concerned and slightly distant.

Before he knew it, dinner was over, it was later than expected, and the others were gathering their stuff to leave. Vaughn came to him, looking up at his taller friend in concern.

“Rhys,” He said softly, “is something wrong?”

Rhys could just barely see Yvette watching them from further down the hall. “I...Jack’s been gone since we, you know. I’m worried. He seemed sorta off earlier, but you know how Jack is. I hope he’s okay.”

Vaughn hugged him, and Rhys wrapped his arms—one flesh, one metal—around his friend. “Me too bro. Echo me and Yvette tomorrow if he’s still not back or something, okay?”

Rhys squeezed before letting go. “I will. You guys enjoy those treats Ma’s letting you go with. They’re too yummy to waste them on some fat due in a suit.”

Vaughn laughed, “True! Bye Rhys.”

Yvette came flying out of nowhere, wrapping an arm each around the two boys. “Now, you two be good. I’ll see you guys at group in a few days. Try not to get yourselves injured?”

So Rhys’ friends left, he went up to bed, and he wondered. He wondered where Jack was, if he was okay, if tomorrow was going to a good day, and, most importantly, over the information he had heard the parents discus after dinner before it was late and people had to leave.

* * *

 

_“Did you hear?” Martha said softly._

_Ma and Mom glanced at each other warily._

_“Do you mean about Hyperion?” Ma answered._

_Isaiah nodded, “Horrible, isn’t it?”_

_“It’s disgusting. Jack was bad, but he kept them in line, and focused on places mostly outside of Elpis. Now look at what they’re doing,” Ma continued, face scrunched in anger._

_“They’re bloodthirsteh assholes who cannae even find their own noses withou’ someone pointin’ it out ta them!” Mom exclaimed, glowering out the window after she finished._

_“The company is going too far out of bounds, and no one is going to stop them. The only people who could compeat are Maliwan, but they haven’t stepped foot in the city since before Jack died.”_

_“Well, if-”_

_“Moooooooom!”_

_“What Yvette?” The parents glanced at each other as Yvette and co ran over, and no more of the topic was discussed after that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr.](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com) feel free to come say hi or send me prompts!


	11. coming to an end of days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's new years!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this is the second to last chapter of the more consistent slice-of-life chaps, after the next i'll probably do abt two per year until rhys hits a certain age, unless i decide to expand on something important

“Wow seriously? That’s really gross.”

“Ugh,  _ I know. _ And then, without even blinking, she hops off my head and back into her cage! Doesn’t even look at me after that, just goes off to one of her hide spots. I smelled  _ horrible _ . Dad had to go to the store to get something that helped remove the smell, but then I smelled like chemicals with an undertone of frog poo.”

Rhys grimaced, eyes scrunching closed in disgust. It was New Years at Yvette’s house, and the three children had wandered off into the house, discussing what had happened since Christmas; and Rhys’ upcoming birthday in a week. He didn’t feel like a year had passed, but it had. He had gotten friends, something he thought was out of for an outcast. Apparently not.

“Oh cupcake, I’ve told you about  _ much _ worse,” Jack commented from his position near the wall. 

“So?” Rhys asked, looking at his floating companion. Yvette and Vaughn started to talk as Rhys faced Jack more openly.

“ _ So,  _ pumpkin, what I’m  _ saying _ is that you should be used to this kinda stuff, not so squicked out by it,” he replied, floating closer to Rhys as he did so.

Rhys just sighed. Ever since Jack had disappeared for those two days, Rhys had felt as if something had happened, some monumental shift in the world that he just couldn’t see. Rhys felt like he was off balance, as if the ground was ever-so-slowly tilting, and he wouldn’t catch on til it was too late. It made Rhys feel  _ weird _ , like super uncomfortable and on edge. He didn’t like it. The feelings made him want to  _ move _ , like pacing around. He was jittery, constantly in motion, especially when he was alone. And Jack acted as if nothing was wrong, as if he hadn’t _ disappeared for two whole days and then some. _ Rhys wanted to hit him.

“Kiddo, you okay? You look kinda pale,” Jack said, interrupting Rhys’ thought train.

“Yeah,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, “just—a bit tired y’know? Anyways, Yvette, do you know if your parents said we could sleep over tonight?”

She looked up from her conversation with Vaughn“Oh, yeah. They said it was cool as long as we stayed on my floor, can’t have us kids running around ruining their New Years or whatever.” 

“I don’t even  _ get _ the point of New Years,” Vaughn stated, expression one of both annoyance and confusion, “like Pandora’s planetary-star rotation is  _ totally _ different than Earths, even though, for the most part, we go by the Gregorian calendar, it still doesn’t actually match up considering our planet days are almost  _ four times _ the amount of Earth’s. Like what’s the point besides to have parties any stuff? It doesn’t make any sense.” He shook his head, a look of disgust only a nerd could have. Rhys would know, he had one on all the time. And so did Jack when he saw crappy coding, but he’d never admit it.

“I’unno Vaughn, but to be honest, I’m not gunna complain that much. Free food and a huge house to play in? I’m set for now. Try again tomorrow after I get up in the morning.”

All three of his friends scoffed, Vaughn and Yvette giving each other  _ “yeah right” _ looks, while Jack shook his head.

“What!”

“Kid, you’re a nightmare in the morning/Rhys we aren’t even gunna  _ go  _ there.”

“I hate all of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally! some weird probably super incorrect science stuff!!! i always headcanoned vaughn as a space nerd, rhys as the coding nerd, and yvette as the (biggest) game nerd. vaughn also has a pet tree frog that his dad helps him take care of. rhys wants a snake, yvette has two cats, but also wants a ferret
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr.](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	12. the end of an era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys' birthday is here, and with it, the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the last chapter of what i think of as the "prologue", and as such, it is much longer than usual. with this end, we start a new beginning, and rhys' life starts to speed by, as time often does. i hope you've enjoyed the ride so far.

Rhys’ nine had expired, and left him with nothing but ten. So as he and his friends sat around his room, playing a game of Monopoly (of which Vaughn was winning by a country mile), Rhys thought on all the crazy stuff in his life that had happened in his life since he had met Jack. There was a surprising amount for someone so young.

Like the time they were at the zoo and Jack had tricked him into releasing all the monkeys. Now _that_ what a party. Or the day when he, Vaughn, and Yvette had made a plan to cancel group for the day. It had _almost_ worked, if only stupid Vasquez hadn’t seen Rhys leaving Potts’ office. _Stupid meathead._ There was also the time the three of them had convinced their parents that they wanted to take up classical instruments and go to a music camp, but then had proceeded to change the forms to a week-long field trip to the mountains to look and research the wild fauna and flora. _That_ one they got away with, though their parents had be so cross when they had arrived on the wrong bus, muddied up and bruised, laughing at the adventures they had had on the trip. Jack had been there through _everything,_ laughing and mocking and encouraging all the way. Rhys knew that if he hadn’t met Jack, he wouldn’t have met his two best friends, he wouldn’t have had the fun times, even if there were some bad ones too. But to Rhys, it was all new and exciting, an adevnture all it own. He was looking forwards to what th-

_“Gaaahh!”_

“ _Oof,_ man I didn’t think I had jumped that hard.”

“Yvette! Look at the mess you made, now we’ll have to start our game all _over_ again,” Vaughn moaned, staring hopelessly at the scattered fake money and tiny yellow-and-black pieces. The board was somewhere out of sight, and Rhys soon stopped paying attention as Yvette began to wrestle with him.

The rolled around on the bed, ignoring Vaughn's complains of making an even bigger mess, as they fought for control. Rhys used his metal arm to push Yvette away, but she slipped around it and dove at him, the force of which drove them off the bed and onto the floor. Rhys landed on his side, and Yvette on her stomach, further away from him.

“Ooooh kiddo, that looked like it _hurt_ ,” Jack commented idly from off to the side, picking at his nails as he did so.

Rhys just groaned in response, digging around underneath his hip til he found the little bee statue, which he then threw at Jack.

“ _Hey!_ That wasn’t very nice Rhysie-boy.”

Rhys sat up and stuck his tongue, but was unable to respond due to his mothers calling him from downstairs.

“Rhysie! Come here sweetie! Bring your friends, it’s time for cake!”

The three children looked at each other and grinned.

“Race you guys?”

“You’re on!”

“Totally!”

* * *

 

“Ooooh, I don’t think I can move. My stomach hurts too much. Why did I eat so much cake?” Vaughn said pathetically from where he sat on the couch to the left of Rhys.

“I’unno man, but I feel you. I think I might explode if I try to even lift my hand!”

Yvette snorted, grabbing Rhys’ half-eaten piece of cake (his fourth), and continued to eat the sugar -frosted bread. “You two are so weak.”

“Oh Rhys, but what about your _presents?_ ”

Rhys paused at that, glancing over at Vaughn, who sighed and nodded. “I think I can do that.”

“Maybe this’ll teach you not to eat so much junk, cupcake.”

Rhys just made a face at Jack and slowly rolled himself off the couch.

Presents awaited him in the other room, he had a duty to rip them open and enjoy what people had bought for him. So he and Vaughn slowly made their way back into the dining room, leaning on each other at points to keep from toppling over and just laying on the floor like logs.

“God you two are going to be eliminated by natural selection, I swear.”

“Why are you so mean to us Yvette?”

“Yeah, we’re just two hapless boys trying to make a living!”

“Uhhuh.”

Eventually, they made it and Rhys sat proudly at the head of the table, tearing into his presents with a vigor. His mothers had gotten him a glass tank, it looked to be a twenty or thirty gallon. It was empty,, thought there was a note taped to the front of it written in his Ma’s script _“Open your Mom’s gift carefully!”_

So Rhys reached for the small box, pausing where he heard a scraping come from the inside as he gently pulled it towards him. They hadn’t! Rhys’ eyes grew wide, looking up as his grinning parents, before carefully opening the box, noticing the holes on the top for the first time. Inside was a small worm-like creature, fleshy coloured, but with small markings here and there. It was annoyed at being disturbed, tongue flaking out in a little hiss. _He had his own snake!_

“Thank you! Ohh lookit it it’s so cute, what kind is it? Is it a male or female? What’s his morph?” Rhys asked at a rapid-fire pace, face lit up.

“Slow down there, Ry. It’s a ball py’on, a banana morph? And it is a he. Yer Ma and I decided ye could name ‘im. And yer very welcome, baby.”

“Oh, cool! Okay okay, I think I’ll call you....Libra. You’re gunna be the best-cared for snake _ever!_ ”

“Try not to say things like that kiddo, you never know if people will hold you to the things you promise.”

“Wow, he looks cool! Can I hold him?” Yvette asked, not even bothering to wait for an answer as she reached towards the box.

Rhys swatted her hand away, “ _No,_ you can’t. He’s not used to handling. You have to work up to it. Do you even know how to handle a snake?”

She looked a bit sheepish, hand rubbing her arm in embarrassment. “Um, no?”

“That’s what I thought. Maybe in a couple weeks, okay?”

“Alright!”

And they moved on, Rhys casting glances at the box every so often.

His next present was from Yvette, who had gotten him two things. The first was a ticket to the local reptile expo, which was in a few months, and the other was a really cool life-sized anaconda.

“Thanks Yvette. Where’d you get the stuffed animal though? This thing is _huge!_ ”

“Innternet.”

Rhys nodded, that made sense.

Vaughn’s gift was smaller, but Rhys didn’t care, because he knew that Vaughn had probably put a lot of time and most likely all of this month's allowance into the beautifully decorated leather-bound book. Or what Rhys _assumed_ was leather; he never was any good at that stuff. He flipped through it, looking at the blank pages. It was a sketchbook. Rhys had been needing a new one, but hadn’t had the time to get it.

“Dude, _bro._ Bro this is amazing! Thank you!” Rhys caressed the pages with the gentleness of a feather, touch barely skimming the pages. “This...wow Vaughn. Seriously, _thank you._ ”

Vaughn blushed, looking down and scuffing his feet. “It was, uh, no problem. You’re, um, really welcome man.”

Rhys just beamed at his friend.

There weren’t many presents left, a couple from family who lived further away that he never saw, mostly it was money or candy. But there was one present, at the very bottom. It was wrapped in white paper, a little yellow-and-blue bow on top, only about as big as his palm. It was simply addressed as _“Rhys”._

He carefully opened it, wondering who the small box could be from. Inside, laid into a bed of tissue paper, was a simple black flash drive. A business card sat below it. Rhys pulled it out, wondering if it would tell him the gifters name. But all it said was _“This might help - a friend”_ in elegant script.

"What is it?"

"Huh, that looks familiar..." Jack mumbled, but Rhys didn't pay much attention.

"A flash drive, from a friend" Rhys answered Vaughn's question. He shrugged and pulled it out. It was a matte black, with some weird circular designs etched onto it.

"Kiddo, wait let me-"

Rhys plugged in into his arm, blinking at the small sensation of static that tingled up his arm from the contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: rhys' snake is a consistent part of who i see him as in my mind, as such, he is featured or mentioned in both my story Fairly Faerie, and a one shot or two, and will continue to pop up as such, along with his other snake, who is not yet in this one, Glitter. Both Vaughn's frog, Peanut Brittle, and Yvette's eventual pet ferret, Pompington Van Chef, are of the same vein.
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr.](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	13. an interlude of sorts

_ “Mr Tassiter, what do you plan on doing about the allegations leveled by the people of Elpis, and much of Pandora?” _

_ “Well, that’s up to my PR team, but what I can tell you is that we are working on fixing any and all dissent within the company first, and will continue fixing the holes within our security.” _

_ “Mr Tassiter, over here!” _

_ “Ah, yes?” _

_ “What has it been like running Hyperion all these years from the shadows? _

_ “Since I was too young to understand what Handsome Jack had really done at that point in time, it took me many years to realize exactly how he destroyed my family. Finally watching that murderer die the death he deserved, for killing not only my father, but many others, was an important day in my life and the company’s. It was the beginning of a new era, and a step in the right direction. It had been hard not just stepping up outright and claiming the company, but at that time I would have not had the protection and allies needed to successfully take the company back over. It has been even harder watching the company decline into such a state, that I, even as the rightful owner, could not reign it back in from collaborating with bandits and scum, from destroying more lives.” _

_ “Mr Tassiter, now that you have admitted to seeing Handsome Jack die personally, will you tell us who killed him? Or is that to remain a secret until later?” _

_ “While I did not kill Handsome Jack with my own hands, I will say I am responsible for his downfall. The hero who did the actual deed is not on Pandora at the moment due to classified reason, and as such, are unable to be contacted. I will take one more question, and then I’m afraid I must be off.” _

_ “Mr Tassiter!” _

_ “Yes?” _

_ “Can you tell us any of the plans you have for Hyperion?” _

_ “Only the best of things, I assure you.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	14. a-maze-ing times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys is lost, what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yeah i'm back sup?

Rhys was unsure where to go, everything looking the same. Distant screams rang through hot air, and Rhys just wanted to go _home_. He couldn’t find his way out of a cardboard box, much less a _maze_. Honestly, what was Vaugh thinking when he asked Rhys to go do the maze with him? He knew Rhys got lost easily!

“Aw, pumpkin don’t look so _down_. I can just float up and-”

“ _No!”_

“Wowsers, alrighty there kid. Was jus’ tyrin’ ta help.”

“...Sorry. I just mean I can do it by myself, since Vaughn thought it was good idea to run off ahead when I was tyin’ my shoe.”

Jack laughed and nodded, “I know kid, just try not to be so snappy about it next time, kay cupcake?”

Rhys gave a smile and started off in a direction, hoping that _this_ was the way to go. It wasn’t, as it only led deeper into the maze, more obstacles and rest stations appearing. Rhys could occasionally see a team flag, but besides Jack, he was alone. It was sort of scary, but also kind of nice.

“So kiddo, ya think anyone else is comin’ this way? Those flags look pretty far out,” Jack commented, floating on his back, hands behind his head.

Rhys shrugged, “I’unno, maybe? Hey, the door’s unlocked, sweet!” Rhys gave a quick glance around, and then opened the door to the snack shed. The widow had been closed, but it was obvious it had been in use recently. _How_ recently was another matter. Rhys just hoped that it was recent enough there was food inside that hadn’t gone bad yet.

“Uh, you sure-wait how the hell did you do that? I was _just_ in there and the door was definitely locked.” Jack was surprised and suspicious. He had floated inside to see if anyone was around, and he **knew** that the door had been locked.

Rhys glanced up at him, blinking. “Are you sure? “Cause it was pretty easy to open. Maybe ya were just seein’ things?”

Jack knew what he had seen, but decided that he would leave it for now. “Yeah, maybe kiddo.”

Rhys went back to scrounging around the shelves and cabinets, a small pile of food place off to side that _seemed_ okay to eat. Rhys was really hungry, and according to the clock he could access from his ECHOeye, he’d been in the stupid maze for like, two hours. They weren’t even supposed to leave the museum for another three, so Rhys wasn’t worried. They’d fid him eventually. It just succed that his ECHOcom didnn’t work in the maze. Somethin’ about not cheating or whatever. Rhys had been too distracted snickering quietly at Jack making faces and mocking the other kids.

“Hm, kid, there’s a small fridge back here, try and see if there’s anything to drink. Can’t have you get dehydrated now.” Jack was floating by the back corner, where a small black mini fridge was tucked away out of sight. It was humming quietly, so it worked. Now there was just the issue of anything being in there. Jack hoped so, ‘cause the kid tended to get dehydrated fast. Something to do with his implants maybe, but Jack wasn’t totally sure. He’d need to have someone research and test his theory. So, since he couldn’t have _that_ , he just made sure to remind Rhys to drink water and juice often. It was like raising a kid, except Rhys wasn’t his and had two perfectly competent and good mothers to take care of him.

“Oh? Cool, hold on!” Rhys scooped the small pile of junk food he’d found and wobbled over to the tiny couch that someone had managed to fit into the tiny shack. He dropped the pile and went over to where Jack was, bumping into the counter as he passed it by.

“Careful kiddo, don’ hurt yourself.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Rhys stopped in front of the fridge, glancing up at Jack, who was busy fidgeting with his clothes. “Think there’s anythin’ good in there?”

Jack glanced down at him and shrugged, “No way to tell ‘til ya open it pumpkin.”

Rhys gave a blank stare.

Jack stuck his tongue out.

Rhys sighed and turned to the fridge and opened it without much adieu, looking at the contents. There was a package of hotdogs, some weird tofu stuff ( _was that even supposed to be refrigerated?_ ), a half-empty bottle of what Rhys _hoped_ was fruit-punch, and a couple bottles of water.

Rhys grabbed one of those and closed the door.

_“Boo!”_

“AHHHH!”

“Hahahahhahahah ah oh god kid, _every time_. You should expect this by now!” Jack was rolling around in the air, hand clutching his stomach.

Rhys glared, arms crossed and face screwed up. His heart was racing and he felt like he needed to crawl under a rock and just hide for a while. Instead, he just turned and walked back over to the couch, climbing up onto it and started eating his snacks in silence, ignoring Jack.

“Aw, c’mon kid. It was _funny!_ ”

Rhys just continued to eat his food, sipping his water every now and then.

“Kiddo you’re killiin’ me here.”

Rhys held up his hand, activating the holo-screen, and started playing a game. The small upgrades and games that had been in the flashdrive he’d received on his birthday were pretty nice, and had really helped in a lot of situations. Especially when Jack did something like this, and Rhys ignored him til he apologized. (It was more common than you’d think.)

Ten minutes went by, Rhys playing his games, and Jack complaining, badgering, and pouting his way until finally:

“Ugh, alright alright, I’m s- _sorry_ for scaring you.” Jack’s face was puckered, as if he’d bit into a unexpectedly sour fruit, eyes pinched shut and lips pursed.

Rhys glanced up and smiled. “Okay. Can you tell me more stories? This game is gettin’ kinda boring.”

Jack sighed and acquiesced. He knew the kid was just milking it for all he could, but Jack was the one who helped nourish that particular aspect, so he could only blame himself. “Sure kid. Did I ever tell you about the time we accidentally bought a theme park planet?” He floated down to the couch, sitting beside the kid.

Rhys stared wide-eyed. “ _No.”_

Jack laughed, “Well, it started because Angel wanted to try a space-coaster, as we don’t have any on here on Pandora…”

So they sat, Jack revealing bit-by-bit how he had come into the possession of an interstellar-known amusement planet, and the subsequent effects of that. They were, to say, _amusing_ enough to keep Rhys occupied until he was found, an hour late by his parents and a security team, one hysterical and the other slightly confused how a ten and a half year old got into an electronically locked shack with a twenty-digit code, as was standard for their locked areas.

Rhys just wanted to sleep by the time they reached the car, curling up with a hand fisted tightly around a glowing blue jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for disappearin' for so long. been busy starting up another blog, a hj rp blog, bc im a fuckin nerd loser. also it's cause im part of this cool rp community call [Obsian](http://stolencity.tumblr.com) so maybe check that out? 
> 
> I also figure that after what happened, maybe somethin' a little lighthearted was in order
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback..com)


	15. lessons in life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rhys and his little posse start at a new school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> newflash: i'm done being tired, i'm _angry_

Rhys had a hand on Vaughn’s shoulder, fingers slid under and wound tightly in the bag strap. Yvette was on his other side, hand gripped tightly in his. The three of them stared up at the glass-metal-brick building before them, standing still in a sea of raging people. Rhys was honestly _scared_. It had been almost two years since he had attended a school with actual _people_ and _children._

“So, uh. Do you guys know which teachers you have?” Vaughn asked nervously, fingers playing with his glasses.

Rhys and Yvette looked at each other, before looking at Vaughn.

“Uh, no. Rhys, do you know?”

Rhys shook his head, unable to speak.

“Cheer up kiddo, you get to start usin’ those skills I’ve been teaching you,” Jack commented, floating somewhere behind him.

Rhys just gave a small whimper.

* * *

Rhys had neither Yvette nor Vaughn in his class, and without them, he felt lost and alone.

“Alright class, I’m Ms Peters, welcome to your first day of fifth grade!”

There was a snicker, and then a shout from somewhere in the back of the classroom, “Why d’ya look like a man?”

Jack frowned. “Now that was just downright rude. Kids these days.”

She paused, her chin tilting up just the smallest bit as she smiled. “Now now, that wasn’t very nice. If you’re just curious, then you raise your hand and wait to be called on, and ask _politely_. Otherwise, I will assume you’re trying to be rude and you _will_ be given extra work to make up for your behavior, after having a small talk with me.” She clasped her hands together and sat on her desk primly, legs crossed. “Now, I’m what people call ‘transgender’. It means I was born within the wrong body, as instead of coming to my parents as a _girl,_ I came to them as a _boy_. Of course, that took me a _very_ long time to understand. It’s a very common thing nowadays, and while there will always be people who think otherwise, it’s a natural thing, and sometimes mix-ups happen.”

Rhys blinked, confused. Didn’t everyone know that? His parents had explained that to him when he was younger. There were all sorts of cool people out there, some who had the wrong body, and others who didn’t feel like they belonged to the gender spectrum. Rhys knew a lot of people like that, friends of his parents, and lots of family. He glanced around the room. A lot of the kids looked interested, as if they had never even  _heard_ of it before.

A hand raised, and Ms Peters called on them. “Uh, if you’re a girl now, do you still, um, _like like_ girls?”

She laughed, “Well, I never like liked girls even when I thought I was a boy; boys were always cuter to me. I have a boyfriend named Ryder, if that answers your question better.”

There was a small _‘oh’_ and the kids nodded.

“Does anyone else have any other questions?”

“Um…”

“Yes...?”

“Uh, I’m Lily. So it’s okay to like, not _like like_ the people your parents think you should?”

“Honey, it’s _normal_.”

Rhys took a deep breath, and raised his hand.

“Yes…?”

“You can do it Rhys, head up, shoulders straight. Remember what I taught ya, kid.”

He swallowed, “Rhys...uh, if it helps, I have two moms? They’re pretty cool. Uh, I’ve also got a lot of family like Ms Peters an’ stuff...so like, um, if you have any questions I could help?”

His teacher smiled, and some of the kids looked jealous when he said he had two moms. Rhys felt pride swell up inside, and he grinned at the class. _Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because love is love is love _and it is normal so fuck you_
> 
>  
> 
> i'm bitter, sorry not sorry


	16. trips for teasers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trips are fun, no?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i'm kinda nervous about this chapter. i'm introducing a hc that i've had for a _long_ time, but i've been to scared to implement it til now.

“Is there  _ anything _ you don’t have packed away Rhysie?”

“It’s all here in my bag, Ma.”

“Good, let’s go then.”

Ma smiled and held the door open, Rhys darting out the door, backpack thumping as he ran to the car. It was winter break, and they were heading up to a resort with Vaughn and Yvette. It was a pretty nice place, with a few restaurants, a massage area, hot springs, pools and an arcade. There was some other stuff but Rhys only really cared about the pools and the arcade. It was pretty fancy place, and they were supposed to be meeting Yvette, Vaughn, and their parents at the edge of Elpis, since traveling together when traversing the borderlands of Pandora was better then going it alone. Bandits were less likely to attack larger groups, and even though they were only traveling to Lynchwood, where the bandits feared to tread too close to, it was still best to be cautious. The notifications of their departure had been sent ahead, and the resort would call authorities if they were more than twenty minutes late without calling ahead to notify them.

Such  was the life of a Panndoran, and Rhys was no exception. He had grown up with this sort of thing, anytime they traveled out of Elpis to see family and such just pounding it in further.

“ _ Dios mío, _ this bandit problem has only gotten worse since I kicked the bucket. Whoever is running Hyperion needs to be shot. And then beat. Like, honestly if I were alive this would have never happened,” Jack said, shaking his head at the thought.

Rhys looked up at him from his holo-game, eyes curious. He couldn’t really speak at the moment, since his parents would hear and wonder who he was talking to, but Jack knew Rhys well enough after more than two years of being stuck together.

“This—this—what you guys have to do, all this preparin’ and callin’ ahead, it’s—it’s not  _ right.  _ Ah _ como diablos _ , okay so it’s like this: when you an’ your family go on trips, especially out of Elpis, it used to be that there were Hyperion patrols and check-in stations and stuff like that, so ya know, people didn’t  _ die _ . From what I can figure, Hyperion deemed it an ‘unnecessary expenditure’ and cut the program, which really, that took me  _ years _ to set up. Frickin’ a-holes,  _ va a matar esos idiotas _ . Nothin’ like a good strangling to get you out of the dumps.” Jack continued to mutter, a mix of Spanish and English. 

The Spanish thing was both new and yet not. Jack was, apparently, half Hispanic, and Spanish was actually his first language, as his grandmother refused to speak anything else. He’d taught himself English, or the universal version at least, while he was a kid. Jack hadn’t really spoken a lot of it that first year, for reasons Rhys still didn’t know, but had slowly been using it more and more. Rhys’ favorite thing was when Jack would sing to him, as rare as it was. The man didn’t know anything about cooking (unless it was grilled cheese and easy soup), but he really knew how to sing.

Rhys nodded absently as Mom announced they were almost to the meet up, and grabbed his bag. He was going to be spending the ride with Yvette and Vaughn in Yvette’s parents SUV. 

“Hey,  _ niño, _ watch yourself, okay? Lynchwood isn’t too far, but out in the borderlands, you never know what might happen.  _ No me gustaría ver que te hagan daño _ .”

Rhys gave Jack a smile and hopped out as the car came to a stop. 

“Vaughn! Guess what I got!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, well if you're a fluent speaker, please let me know if anything is wrong!! i really want to make sure the language is right, and not butcher it beyond recognition. I'm obviously not a speaker, any and all help will be appreciated, as well as rewarded with a little sketch of your choice!
> 
> if you want to got through my [art tag](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com/tagged/samwises'+art) for a few examples of the small amount i've posted. just shoot me a message or an ask! 
> 
> this was supposed to be up yesterday, but i sort of forgot to post it, sorry about that!


	17. sleeping kittens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff is always nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise! double update!

_“Shush, you’re going to wake them!”_

_“Well if ya would_ kindly _move outta mah way, I’d be able ta ge’ a good pictah!”_

_“Shi-crap, quiet quiet!”_

Vaughn groaned and stretched, nudging Rhys in the face. Rhys just curled up further and pressed into Yvette, her arm wound around his shoulders tightening. Vaughn grumbled and buried himself in Rhys’ side. It was a warm puppy pile and Rhys just wanted to sleep forever.

“ _¿Qué diablos es este presente tan lindo?_ Man kid, you need to stop bein’ cute it’s annoyin’.”

That sounded like Jack…

 _“Eeeeeee!_ Look _at them! They’re like kittens! Isaiah please tell me you’re getting this?”_

_“No worries Harly, I’ve been taping this whole time.”_

And that was Ma and Mr Andersmith. What were they whisper-squealing about…?

“Mmmm, Rhys youraaaahhhh—your arm is really hard…” Vaughn groaned, yawning in the middle of his sentence.

Rhys just mumbled out a slurred “S’rry f’r tha’.” in response.

Yvette shifted, lightly bopping Vaughn on the head. “You two nee’ ta shut up, ‘m tryna sleep.”

 _“Oh, Pam...I don’t want to wake them up, but we_ do _need to get inside.”_

_“I don’ eitha, Sully. But we gotta.”_

Rhys popped his head up, finally deciding to investigate what the parents were whispering about to each other. They were standing around the open car door, phones out and looking between each other and the three kids in the backseat.

“Mmma? Wha’s goin’ on?”

“Oh Rhysie. Honey, we’re at the resort…”

Rhys blinked, the words penetrating the fog of sleep. He smiled tiredly, and nudged Vaughn and Yvette. _Oh_ . They were freaking out over their puppy pile, weren’t they? Adults were _weird_.

“C’mon guys. Time ta-yaaahhh-time ta get up. I wanna go check ou’ tha arcade.”

Vaughn gave a mighty groan and pulled himself up, glasses sitting askew on his face, red lines and the faint imprint of where Rhys’ arm had been pressed into his face stark against his skin.

“Gaaaah, wha’ d’ya mean? We’re here?” He peered out the window sleepily, eyes not really seeing the building before them.

It was Yvette’s turn to wake, but she stubbornly refused to even budge.

 _“Maldición, será terca_ , really doesn’t want to wake up. I can respect that,” Jack said, sitting backwards on the console up front.

Rhys blinked and looked down at his friend, and poked her side. She gave a gruff growl which tapered off into a yawn, punctured by a “th’ hell are we?”

Mrs. Andersmith gasped, “YVETTE! Who taught you that kind of language? Young lady, you’ll be grounded if I hear anything like that come out of your mouth again!”

Yvette whimpered, a hand covering the ear that wasn’t pressed into the seat, and looked at Rhys pitifully.

“Uh, Mrs Andersmith I’m pretty sure it was those weird guys at that rest stop like three hours back. They said all _sorts_ of rude things. I’m sure she didn’t _mean_ to say it.” Rhys gave Mrs. Andersmith his biggest puppy eyes he could, and even though he was ten (almost eleven!), he could see how her eyes lost their glare, even though her face remained stern.

“Hmph, well, like I said, _don’t_ say it again.”

Yvette gave Rhys a thankful look, and the three sleepy children slid out of the car, arms wrapped around each other for support, looking blearily up at the _very_ nice, and very _large_ building before them.

“Well, you guys look like you’re ‘bout to collapse, _ve a dormir un poco.”_

Rhys just hummed and stumbled after his parents with Yvette and Vaughn, tired but excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like i said last chapter, if you're fluent in spanish, place contact me if anything's wrong!! i _really_ would appreciate the help, and you'll get both my thanks and a small sketch of whatever character you want!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	18. siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys finally meets his new siblings

" _No me vengas con ese niño cara,_ " Jack said with a grumpy look, glaring down at Rhys.

Rhys just smiled and gave Jack an innocent look, turning to follow his mothers inside.

The building was shiny, but obviously old and worn. His mothers said it looked like that when they had come to get him, too.

Now they were back, and bringing Rhys with them to help out. They had decided that since Rhys was old enough to understand, he would get to have an imput on it. Which resulted in him going to the agency with Ma and Mom.

The inside was surprisingly homey, warm lighting and decorations complimenting the soft and comfortable furniture. Rhys didn’t think that an adoption agency would look so _nice_.

He was eleven now, and it was almost May. Mom and Ma had decided that they wanted more children, and since they had had such luck with finding Rhys here, they’d decided to come back. But only after consulting Rhys to see how he would feel about a new sibling.

He was actually pretty okay with the idea, as it sometimes got lonely around the house. It would be nice to have someone around so often. Yvette and Vaughn couldn’t be around _all_ the time, and Rhys needed company. Jack was there, but even he went off occasionally and he wasn’t always good for company when he didn’t.

So, to the agency they went. Rhys went and played with the kids other kids in the building while Mom talked to one of the workers and Ma talked with some kids.

Most of the kids were either too old to play with him, or way too young. And all they wanted to do was talk about stupid stuff. They were all so... _childish_ . He hated kids. They were boring and really loud and most of the time they had nothing interesting to say. But Rhys wanted a sibling. They’d be different, because they would have _him_ as a brother. He’d teach them all the cool stuff like coding and how to cheat Ma out of cookies and help them learn Spanish like he was from Jack (sort of—it was complicated). They’d be the best sibling _ever._

Jack was floating around Rhys, staring boredly around at the children. There wasn’t much to do, and it wasn’t like Rhys could talk to him. He floated towards the edge of the room, having enough of screaming monsters.

He sighed and turned onto his stomach, and was met with the glaring face of a little girl. “ _¿Qué?_ What’re you lookin’ at, huh? Stupid little _niña_.”

The girls face screwed up, and she stuck her tongue out at him. Jack blinked in confusion and looked behind him, but there was no one there she could have been making the face at.

“What the hell?”

“Tha’s a bad word! Fiona!” The _niña_ said, turning to the side, where an older girl was sat against the wall. She looked up at the call.

“What is it Sash?”

“The blue guy said a bad word!”

“There’s _another_ here? Great.”

Jack felt like he had been sucker punched. And then kicked in the balls.

“Uhhh, Rhys? I think you should come over here.”

And that was how Rhys met his future sisters, Fiona and Sasha Grif.

(Fiona ended up lecturing both he _and_ Jack about bad language. Sasha just sat there smugly.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> srry this is sort of shitty it took me forever to write it lmao rip
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.cim)


	19. five dollars for the swear jar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fiona still wont forgive jack 'cause you should _never_ swear in front of kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i know it's been over a month but shits just been...bleh. its short and kinda shitty but i'll have another out in two days and hopefully it will be better.

“So you can see him too?”

“Hmph. Maybe.”

“C’mon! I apologized! And it was _three weeks ago!_ ”

“Well he _swore!_ Searing is _bad!_ ”

“But it wasn’t my fault! It was Jack’s, he’s the one who said it.”

Fiona glared at Rhys, before her gaze switched to the area where Jack was floating. Unlike Sasha, who could see Jack like Rhys, Fiona was only able to sense Jack most of the time. Occasionally she could see him, but it was more like how a cat used it’s whiskers to sense things in the dark. She knew he was there, could _feel_ him, but she couldn’t _see_ him. Rhys thought it was cool either way.

Fiona and Sasha Grif were two sisters whose parents had died when they were young. And then they’d been raised by some asshole named Felix up until Fiona was ten and Sasha five. The guy had been caught red handed in one of his cons and gotten arrested, and the sisters had been shipped to the adoption agency Rhys and his parents  had found them at two and a half years later, Sasha was the youngest, having only just turned eight in December, while Fiona was now thirteen. Rhys had just turned eleven, so he was officially the middle child in the house now. It was a new experience and he wasn’t sure how much he liked it so far.

“So kiddo, ask her exactly how long she intends to hold this childish grudge. It’s _really_ gettin’ on my nerves,” Jack said, floating on his stomach and staring into Fiona’s eyes.

Rhys shifted and repeated Jack’s question in a more polite manner. Or what he hoped was more polite. Fiona kinda scared him if he was being honest. Sasha was just rude, but Rhys liked the both of them. It was just a bit hard getting used to so many people in the house at once, and the fact his parents attention was split more than he was used to. But really, he didn’t mind. He was almost a teenager. He knew how to take care of himself.

Fiona turned to eye Rhys, considering his question. “Weeeell. You have to give me five bucks. And promise that he won’t swear ever again.” She crossed her arms, staring at him expectantly. Sasha mirrored her, tiny hip cocked to the side.

“ _Five bucks?_ What a rip off, the _niña_ should be asking for at least ten. Give her the money, Rhysie. She’s quite serious. And maybe take a note or two, girl knows what’s up.” Jack looked at the two sisters in something akin to approval, but Rhys was too gobsmacked to really pay attention.

“But I don’t have five dollars!”

“Well then I guess you just have to wait until you do.”

“Oh come on!”

“Too bad!”

And the rest of the afternoon was spent arguing over money and swears, little Sasha falling asleep in Rhys’ bed as the older children argued over holo-chess and -checkers,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com)


	20. Vistors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school starts tomorrow and i just want to write again so have this shitty chapter to hold you over til i can write again lmao

_ Whoa, _ was Rhys’ only thought, eyes wide and head tilted back. The feeling was reminiscent of another time, but the thought was pushed aside by the sheer awe he felt.

“Uh, hi?” He wasn’t really sure what to say, other than that. There was just...well how was he  _ supposed _ to react? It was  _ Francis Tassiter _ , the the  _ CEO  _ of  _ Hyperion _ . They guy who helped  **kill** Jack. Who was...currently trying to strangle the shit out of him. Rhys gulped.

Tassiter looked down, a trimmed black eyebrow raising slightly. “Hm?”

Rhys shifted back, tearing his eyes away from Jack’s clenched fists passing through Tassiter’s long neck. “Sorry sir! I was just surprised. Um, I wasn’t expecting Hyperion’s CEO to be at West Elpis Middle-Elementary. Do you, um, need any help sir?”

Rhys figured being polite to the man he hated with a good portion of his entire being, who could also have him killed quicker than a snap of his thumb, was smarter than pissing him off. And there was also the fact that if Rhys wanted to land a job at Hyperion, being on at least good terms (those being the fact the man could recognize him on sight) with him would help him down the line.

Tassiter’s other finely-trimmed eyebrow joined its sister near the hairline. Rhys wondered how he was able to do that and still look dignified. “Middle-Elementary? I was told this was the high school. Are you able to give me sufficient direction to where I need to be?”

Rhys blinked and nodded. “I mean, technically whoever told you that wasn’t lying. The high school is on the other side, connected by a few hallways. Everybody always thinks its a theatre or a gym. It’s this way.” He ignored Jack’s mutterings, side-eyeing the loader bot off to the side, and the armed escorts hiding back in the shadows. 

“Kiddo, what  _ hell _ do you think you’re doin’?! Do you know who this asshole is? I mean, there’s no way you can’t. Look what he’s done to  _ my  _ company!” Jack growled, glaring at both Rhys and Tassiter, hands fisted by his side.

Rhys ignored him, instead paying attention to the winding labyrinth that was his school. They passed by classroom after classroom, the occasional wandering student and hall monitor. The monitors said nothing, merely glancing over Rhys as they stared in slack-jawed amazement at Tassiter and his posse.

“So...child, tell me. What  _ are _ you doing out of class?” The man’s voice barely switched tone, only the slightest hints of emphasis that Rhys could hear. The man definitely had one hell of a poker face, that was for sure.

“I have fifth period off. It’s the channel I would have math in but I’m advanced for my age. So’s my friend Vaughn, but he chose to take the class anyways. I didn’t want to skip ahead, so I get the channel off as long as I help out around school once or twice a week.” He wasn’t trying brag, he really wasn’t, it just...sounded like that no matter the way he put it.

Tassiter hummed, head tilting to the side the tiniest bit. “And how advanced is ‘advanced’, yes?”

Rhys worried his lip for only a second, realizing distantly Jack had  _ finally  _ stopped ranting. “Oh, um. Like—ninth or tenth grade? Vaughns even further ahead than that. He’s more into numbers for numbers. I like coding and stuff personally. Yvette hates math, but she’s not bad at it. She’s the person who get’s anything from anybody though.” Rys babbled longer than the question required for a few reasons. One, he was nervous as hell, and talking about his friends calmed him down, two, he wanted to see what Tassiter would do with the information offered, and three, nobody ever suspected the twelve-year-old of having ulterior motives. Which he wasn’t complaining, that’s for sure.

“I see.” And that was all he said. 

Rhys wondered what was running through his mind. He also wondered what the heck Tassiter wanted at the high school. Well. he’d find out soon enough, the secretaries were  _ horrible _ gossips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://handsomejackisback.tumblr.com/)


	21. plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHOOO NEW CHAPTER

The squeaking grew frantic, tiny claws scrabbling against the plastic walls.    
They watched in silence as Glitter stuck, thin fangs sinking into brown fur. 

“ _ Wicked... _ ” Yvette breathed, eyes glued to the snake as she coiled herself around it and began the process of swallowing the prey. 

Rhys rolled his eyes and flipped onto his back, head hanging off of the edge of the bed as he read a book on snake anatomy. Yvette was over for the next few days because her parents had some sort of business trip, and she just happened to get there in time to watch Glitter feed for the week. She had an odd fascination with it, one that Rhys  _ could _ understand, but found that after the fifth or sixth time it just got boring.

“So Sasha just won her first archery and gun competition and Fiona figured out how to trick Wallethead into spending all his money on fake Handsome Jack merch. She says we can use it to save up for internships at Hyperion. If you guys want to, of course,” Rhys said, sprawling out further over his bed as he watched his friends.

Jack had disclosed bits and pieces of this plan he had, for Rhys to take back Hyperion with his help. Granted, Rhys ingratiating himself with the man responsible for Jack’s death wasn’t the way he’d imagined it going, but it helped. Even if Jack hated him.

After that afternoon Rhys had helped him, Tassiter had decided to sort of...put Rhys and his friends into a race against other kids, and see how far he could get. The prize was a Hyperion scholarship at the least, and a job opportunity at the best. Rhys had refused without his friends, and as such Tassiter had surprisingly (or maybe not, considering how well the three of them worked together) offered to let the three of them work as a team, with some added challenges, of course.

Either way it was something they’d worked hard on for the past two years, Rhys approaching fifteen, his friends already there. It had been a long, weird and fun two years. But not without its sorrows. He frowned sadly at some of the things that had happened, glancing over at Vaughn.

“You know we’re in it for the long haul bro. We’re not gunna give up after the past two years! Besides, I think Jack would kill us if we even thought about it,” Vaughn said, laughing from his place at Rhys’ desk.

“What the money man said. Also when’s lunch?” Yvette chimed in from her spot over by glitter, long jean clad legs stretching towards his bed.

Rhys grinned, same old Yvetter. “Ma said we had to make it ourselves, so whenever you wanna get off your lazy ass and go do that,” he shot at her.

She raised an eyebrow before sticking his tongue out at him. “We made lunch  _ yesterday _ , can’t we, I’unno, order out?”

He shook his head and just wandered out of his room.

“So, you guys are seriously goin’ through with this. Not the way I would have done it but it could work.” And there was Jack, commenting finally on their plans.

“We have a good plan, and with your help we can rise fast. And then we’ll take care of Tassiter and Hyperion will be yours again.”

Jack just nodded as he floated along next to Rhys. 

It was weird now, and Rhys knew something was different but he could never tell. He shrugged and continued on his way,


End file.
